UN voices 'concern' that US tapping its communications

The UN has formally expressed its "concern" to the US after press reports revealed surveillance of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's communications, his spokesman said Tuesday, denouncing actions "inconsistent with (US) obligations."

"The UN officially expressed... its concern regarding recent reports that the communications of the Secretary-General and other senior UN officials have been the subject of surveillance and interference by the US government," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Such actions, Dujarric said, "are inconsistent with the (US) obligations... enumerated in the UN charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations."

The US has intercepted at least four of Guterres' conversations with other UN officials, including on Ukraine, according to the Washington Post, citing confidential Pentagon documents.

US prosecutors last week lodged charges against a 21-year-old airman for allegedly leaking hundreds of secret US documents on the war in Ukraine as well as intelligence assessments on other parts of the world.